Top of The hill Economic Impact and Tax Increment Financing Information

The Top of the Hill project, located atop Cedar Hill (intersection of Euclid Heights Blvd. & Cedar Road), has now advanced to the project design and approval phase with construction slated to begin sometime during the second half of 2019. As a highly visible property at the gateway between the Heights and University Circle, developing this property has been a long-time goal of the City.

Indianapolis-based Flaherty & Collins Properties, who was selected as the development partner for this project after an extensive RFQ/RFP process, has an extensive development track record, completing more than $2 billion in development projects since their founding in 1993, including mixed-use projects similar in scope to what is being envisioned for the Top of the Hill.

This estimated $84 million project is anticipated to consist of approximately 280 to 300 market-rate luxury apartments, up to 15,000 square feet of new first floor commercial space, and a structured parking garage containing 550 parking spaces, as well as additional surface parking throughout the development site. The project is expected to create over 90 permanent jobs, and almost 600 construction jobs when being built. Income tax revenues are projected at almost $270,000 annually from the project, with an additional one-time influx of revenue from construction payroll of over $685,000.

The City and the CHUH School District agreed in March of 2018 to approve the creation of a Tax Increment Financing (TIF) District for this project. This was done to enable the financing of the project and to provide a mechanism for financial compensation to the school district. The TIF exempts 100% of the increase in the assessed value in the TIF area for a period of 30 years to provide for payment by the developer of the costs of the project improvements.

Presently, the school district receives a little over $20,000 annually from property taxes assessed on the Top of the Hill site, which is currently used as a municipal surface parking lot. Once the project is constructed, the increased value of the new buildings and improvements to the site are projected to result in compensation to the school district of almost $400,000 each year the TIF is in place. The TIF is necessary to finance the construction of the project improvements, and will provide strong and significant school compensation opportunities for the school district as compared with the revenue generated by continuing to use the project site as a municipal surface parking lot.

Additional information and links to related Top of the Hill Economic Impact and TIF information can be found below: